The Black Lives Matter Movement
Being a Latina and part of the Latinx community, my voice is also important in the Black Lives Matter movement. Many Latinos grow up in an environment that instills “anti-black” racism from their elders and chooses to ignore the roots of our ancestors. It is now the time to change that by confronting our beliefs and recognizing our privileges.
Black Lives Matter was founded in 2013 after the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murder. Trayvon Martin was a 17 year old African American student who was on his way home from a nearby store after getting candy and an Arizona Iced Tea when he realized he was being followed. George Zimmerman was a 28 year old neighborhood watch volunteer. Zimmerman called police stating that Trayvon was acting “suspicious”. After ignoring police requests to wait for officers to arrive, Zimmerman continued to follow Trayvon. A few moments later, 17 year old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by George Zimmerman. Zimmerman was found not guilty in 2013 and walked free. Trayvon Martin did not get that chance. He did not get the chance to walk at his graduation, he will not get the chance to walk down the aisle, he will not get the chance to start a family.
Don’t forget his name…..Trayvon Martin (1995-2012)
Although BLM was founded in 2013, there have been countless numbers of social injustices happening for many years prior and up until today in 2020. Not only are we continuously seeing systemic racism, but we are witnessing these injustices occurring from people we are taught to TRUST in our communities and that is local law enforcement. Officers who use excessive force against a victim that includes physical force and verbal harassment, are exercising police brutality. My personal opinion, I do not agree that ALL officers are bad, knowing many personally, however, we are noticing that the bad is outweighing the good. Here are some statistics from the previous years according to Mapping Police Violence:
In 2019, there were only 27 days where police did not kill someone.
Black people are most likely to be killed by police.
99% of killings by police from 2013-2019 have not resulted in officers being charged with a crime.
We also need to acknowledge the crime rates and our legal system in this country. The United States puts more people in prison than any other country, making up 5% of the world’s population and 21% of the world’s prison population. Here are some statistics from the Bureau of Justice and NAACP:
African Americans are incarcerated at a much higher rate than anyone else.
In 2018, the number of African Americans in U.S. prisons was at its lowest but the imprisonment rate of Black males was still 5.8 times that of White, while the imprisonment rate for Black females was 1.8 times the rate of White females.
For every 100,000 Black residents, 1,134 were in prison, compared to 218 for Whites.
African Americans are more likely than White Americans to be arrested; once arrested, they are more likely to be convicted; and once convicted, they are more likely to experience lengthy prison sentences.
Prosecutors will often demand a longer and harsher sentence for a Black defendant than for a White one, and despite similar rates of drug use in both communities, Blacks are arrested almost 6 times that of Whites for drug law violations.
If African Americans and Hispanics were incarcerated at the same rates as Whites, prison and jail populations would decline by almost 40%.
On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was killed at the hands of Minneapolis officers Derek Chauvin, Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, Tou Thao. He was taken into police custody for allegedly purchasing cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill. The horrific video of the incident started spreading throughout every social media and news outlet, showing Chauvin kneeling directly on his neck. From the start of when Floyd was in the vehicle, until he was taken away by an ambulance, was all caught on camera, 8 minutes and 46 seconds. George Floyd’s last words: “I can’t breathe”. On June 2, George Floyd’s autopsy showed that the cause of death was due to "asphyxiation from sustained pressure" that cut off the blood flow to his brain. An innocent life lost in a senseless act, when will enough be enough?
In the past week, ALL 50 states held protests in regards to the systemic racism and oppression that is staining this country.
Don’t forget his name….George Floyd (1973-2020)
Ways you can help:
DONATE:
PETITION:
Text “FLOYD” to 55156
https://www.change.org/p/mayor-jacob-frey-justice-for-george-floyd
CALL:
International Affairs Division (612)-673-3074
Velma J. Korbel, Director Department of Civil Rights (612)-673-3012
MPLS FBI Field Office (763)-569-8000
MPD 3rd Precinct (612)-673-5703
MN Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (651)-793-7000
Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis (612)-788-8444
Midnight, on March 13, Louisville police officers, John Mattingly, Brett Hankison, Myles Cosgrove, rammed into Breonna Taylor’s home with an illegal “no-knock” warrant. Police were investigating two men they believed were selling drugs from a house much farther from Breonna Taylor’s and failed to provide sufficient evidence that Breonna Taylor’s house was involved. They also shut their body cameras off before, during, and after. Louisville police officers fired 22 shots, 8 hit Breonna Taylor, killing her. Breonna Taylor was 26 years old and an emergency room technician who was extremely proud of what she did. No charges have been filed yet in the case of Breonna Taylor. Her killers are still walking free.
Don’t forget her name……..Breonna Taylor (1993-2020)
Ways you can help:
DONATE:
PETITION:
Text “ENOUGH” to 55156
https://act.colorofchange.org/sign/justiceforbre-breonna-taylor-officers-fired/
CALL:
Louisville Metro PD (502)-574-7111
Louisville Mayor Office (502)-574-2003
On her 27th birthday, June 5 2020, Louisville city council announced the Breonna Taylor law making no-knock warrants limited to crimes including murder, hostage-taking, kidnapping, terrorism, human trafficking and sexual trafficking. The warrant could also only be sought during “imminent threat of harm or death”. On June 11, 2020, the Breonna Taylor law was officially passed with a unanimous decision.
This shows that our voices are making changes. Don’t stop sharing, don’t stop signing, don’t stop marching!
On February 23, 2020, 25 year old Ahmaud Arbery, while on a jog in Brunswick, Georgia, was followed by two white men, Gregory McMichael and Travis McMichael when they opened fire and killed Ahmaud. William Bryan watched and filmed the entire incident. Ahmaud’s story did not come to light for months later, until it was shared throughout all social media platforms. Gregory and Travis were not charged until May 2020 with murder and aggravated assault. “They didn’t make arrests because they saw the tape, they made arrests because we saw the tape.” Ahmaud was the victim of a hate crime. How can we say that racism doesn’t exist when an innocent black man was shot and killed for jogging in his neighborhood?
Don’t forget his name…...Ahmaud Arbery (1994-2020)
Ways you can help:
DONATE:
PETITION:
https://www.change.org/p/governor-brian-kemp-justice-for-ahmaud-arbery
https://www.change.org/p/district-attorney-tom-durden-justice-for-ahmaud-arbery-i-run-with-maud
CALL:
Glynn County Police Department (912)-554-7800
On May 27, 2020, Tony McDade was shot and killed by Tallahassee police after a call about a deadly stabbing occurred and McDade matched the description given. Tony McDade was a 38 year old black transgender man whose story receieved very little news coverage. McDade's death is believed to be at least the 12th violent death of a transgender or gender nonconforming person so far this year in the U.S, according to the Human Rights Campaign. A 2012 report from Lambda Legal found that half of all black trans people have been imprisoned (for trans folks as a whole, that ratio was 1 in 6). Once incarcerated, trans people suffer disturbingly high rates of sexual and physical violence. Strangio cited a study in a California men’s prison that found over 60 percent of trans women placed in men’s facilities experienced sexual assault while incarcerated. We need to create a community where everyone feels open in their own skin and make sure that they are getting the attention they deserve as well. Black TRANS Lives matter, too and let's not forget that!
Don’t forget his name…...Tony McDade (1982-2020)
Ways to help:
DONATE:
PETITION:
Text “TONY MCDADE” to 484848
https://www.change.org/p/black-lives-matter-activists-justice-for-tony-mcdade
CALL:
Tallahassee Police Dept (850)-891-4200
Officer Kevin Bradshaw (case leader) (850)-556-1726
In the past week, from June 8-June 15, we’ve lost Oluwatoyin “Toyin” Salau, a Black Lives Matter protestor in Tallahassee.
Sign the Petition!
19 years old. She went missing June 6 after just announcing her past history with sexual assault. She was found dead June 15.
27-year-old, Rayshard Brooks
Sign the Petition!
Unarmed and murdered by police after complaints were made of him sleeping in his car at a Wendy’s parking lot.
24-year-old, Robert Fuller
Sign the Petition!
Found lynched from a tree in Palmdale, California. They are ruling his death a suicide.
And the list goes on and on and on.
There are many more ways than the ones I’ve listed where you can get involved. And if you’re unsure where to start, that’s ok.
This youtube video is donating all advertisement revenue to the Black Lives Matter movement. Check it out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCgLa25fDHM
Please be wary of different news outlets as many of them are biased and controlled by one source. Social media is a great way to get information from all over from people just like us and to find people fighting for the same thing and expose those who aren’t. It is also a great way to express your opinions and feelings about situations going on.
Reading books is also a great way to educate ourselves. I just purchased HOW TO BE ANTIRACIST by Ibram X. Kendi which talks about forms of racism and how we can work to oppose them in the system, in others, and in ourselves.
Netflix has also added a BLM genre that has a collection of different movies and documentaries pertaining to the movement!
Netflix BLM Collection
A collection of films and documentaries that can educate on the movement.
All lives can’t matter until black lives matter.
Change starts with us, in our homes, work, school. Be the change!
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. ”
The comments are open on this article so please feel free to share any other outlets, links, information, etc that can be helpful to other readers!